Atlanta Hawks: Bulls 99, Hawks 82
When D-Rose is going like this–making 3-pointers, baking in scores form impossible angles, etc.–not sure what else you can do to him except maybe put him on his butt a few times. “He hit one floater when I thought I got a piece of it,” Teague said. “I knew tonight was his night.”
- But you don’t even have to look at Rose’s amazing performance to find fault with the Hawks.
- Rose didn’t have anything to do with Noah and Taj Gibson pushing around Atlanta’s bigs. He wasn’t even on the court for the bulk of Chicago’s decisive run in the second quarter (and neither were the other starters). Rose did not limit Marvin to one rebound in 23 minutes, induce Smoove into jacking up Js as the Hawks tried to mount a comeback or make Al passive with the ball.
- There were a few signs of fissures among the Hawks afterwards. Everyone seemed to have a different idea of what they need to do for Game 4.
- J.J. didn’t like the offensive approach: “It just seemed as if a lot of times we just ran a lot of pick-and-rolls and I was just kind of buried in the corner. I just thought we played into their hands. We didn’t do anything, I thought, to get our scorers the basketball to make plays. They come with the double team and they make us give it up. We can’t win like that. If you look at Game 1 it was nothing like that. Obviously they made adjustments but at the same time we have to stick with what got us here.”
- So what should the Hawks do? “Honestly, I just got to force the issue,” Joe said. “In Game 4, I am definitely going to do that. I am not going to succumb to the double team and give it up every time because that’s what they want. We are playing right into their hands. I blame myself for that.”
- From my perspective watching the game live, it seemed like J.J. had his chances to make something happen but fell back into Iso-Joe dribbling. When Joe starts talking about forcing the issue, the Hawks are in trouble.
- Al: “We had too much one-on-one. When you do that, this team is too good defensively. We just need to do a better job moving the ball and running the offense the right way. If one guy is not running the offense right, it’s not going to work for others. So I think that’s our biggest problem right now on the offensive end.”
- Al is guilty of it, too. He’s holding the ball trying to figure out his moves when his best move might be catching it and quickly driving to the basket or, if that’s not there, pass the ball. When Al takes his time going inside it’s easy for the Bulls to both help against him and keep their own men within closing distance.
- The Bulls are taking away the pick-and-pop, too. “That’s all we’ve been doing and they’ve been doing a great job at contesting everything,” Al said. “I got a couple touches in the post but I think we can do more of that. Because I feel playing inside out would work to our advantage. I hope that’s something coach looks into.”
- I’m not sure if Al can get anything in the post. His college buddy is making it tough in there along with the rest of Chicago’s aggressive bigs and Al’s post moves are still limited.
- Al needs to do something of the Hawks hope to rally in this series. “It’s going to be tough for us to win without him,” Joe said. “We’ve just got to get him back on track.”
- Jamal slipped free for an open J early and then never saw much space again. “Whenever I’m at the top of the key, I see a second defender,” he said. “They’re coming until I pass the ball. They’re kind of taking it out of my hands. That’s fine. I just want to make sure that we make them pay because we have an advantage
somewhere out there with two guys on me. if we don’t make them pay, then they’re going to continue to do it.” - Chicago’s superior depth was glaring in this game. Their sixth through 10th guys are all legit NBA rotation players.
- Jamal suggested the Hawks didn’t like it when L.D. called timeout after D-Rose ran a one-man fastbreak through their defense (after J.J. missed an iso fadeaway). “I think everybody was surprised by that,” Jamal said. “Whenever you have to call a timeout less than a minute into the game, it’s kind of disheartening. But coach felt like he had to do it.”
- Yes, he did. “When I don’t see the effort on getting back in transition and allowing them to get to the basket without a contest, I knew we were not committed like we were in Games 1 and 2,” Drew said. “To be perfectly honest, that was really discouraging to have to call a timeout that early.”
- The Bulls hammered the Hawks on the boards again. They have more good rebounders, yes, but they also are just hungrier and more physical when it comes to loose balls.
- “We didn’t come out with any physicality,” L.D. said. “They completely beat us up, particularly in the paint.”
- And then there’s the D-Rose problem. Atlanta’s screen-roll defense was powerless against his dynamic drives to the basket and the inevitable result of Atlanta’s bigs helping were putbacks and drive-and-dishes.
- “We were doing the same [coverages] tonight,” Al said. “I think they made adjustments as a team and they figured out how to attack it. They totally exploited it. We now have to make adjustments and change it up. It’s not working like it did the first two games.”
- “When he gets it going, we have to figure out a way to get the ball out of his hands and make someone else beat us,” Josh said.
- D-Rose hasn’t been getting to the line but maybe it’s worth it to put him there if it means he has to take some hard falls. “You don’t want to see anybody hurt but this is a physical game,” Jamal said. “We have to figure out what we want to do with him. We can’t give him both ways. You can’t give him threes and the outside jumper and the layups as well.”
- Some positives: Teague played his third straight superlative game. Josh had 13 rebounds and eventually stopped jacking Js and went hard to the hole. Al eventually got ticked off, too, and was more aggressive.
- That about covers it.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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190 comments Add your comment
Najeh Davenpoop
May 7th, 2011
12:44 am
Oh, and by the way, 7 PM start on a Friday + extra Osama-related security = disaster for Hawks first quarter attendance. I got to CNN Center at 6:40 thinking I’d be at my seat in time for player intros. I ended up getting to my seat right as LD’s timeout 49 seconds into the game was getting over, and a lot of people took a lot longer than that.
mykhalc
May 7th, 2011
12:46 am
@ag…valid points but how LONG has JT been in DAL now? nah this team has too many mental issues and breakdowns. if i saw bball growth from season to season, from player to player then i’d be more inclined to agree. i see the same mental makeup from this team…WEAK!!! this team needs new pieces with cats that are ready to accept and play within their roles…roles that play to their strengths. and i think cats like Josh and Marvin , for example, MIGHT do better in a fresh environment. but as a fan, i just tired of watchin’ this collection of players together…
Najeh Davenpoop
May 7th, 2011
12:46 am
“When Joe starts talking about forcing the issue, the Hawks are in trouble.”
As long as he’s going towards the basket and making quick decisions, it’s fine.
JeJe
May 7th, 2011
12:49 am
IT WAS A HORRENDOUS PICK
MARVIN IS 6″9 AND HAD 1 REBOUND
BILLY KNIGHT
May 7th, 2011
12:50 am
@ ag how can you starte wilkens before starting collins,
game 2 Bulls 58 rebounds Hawks 38
game 3 Bulls 46 rebounds Hawks 34
The hawks are being dominated in the paint, collins will atleast keep noah of the boards.
JeJe
May 7th, 2011
12:50 am
Teague had another career night and our frontcourt was AWOL
AL HORFORD YOU ARE SOFT
cp
May 7th, 2011
12:50 am
If Zaza is going to rebound like he did tonight then no he shouldnt start. Dude was stuck in cement watching the ball instead of blocking out and grabbing boards.
drmaryb (*_-)
May 7th, 2011
12:50 am
Since that last head-butt suspension, ZaZa stopped brawling.
BILLY KNIGHT
May 7th, 2011
12:53 am
Collins 7′0 280 Dwight 6′11 270 Collins kept superman from dominating the paint, with out Collins the hawks loose the series against magic.
JeJe
May 7th, 2011
12:53 am
I guess LD won’t call out Marvin for having 1 freaking rebound.
JOSH ATTACK THE BASKET EVERYTIME. THAT’S WHEN YOU’RE EFFECTIVE. IT’S TAKEN YOU 6+ YEARS TO REALIZE THIS
Michael Cunningham
May 7th, 2011
12:54 am
“MC, I wish you would have asked Al what’s happened to his shot?”
i did . . . . see the Game 2 pregame blog for the answer.
mykhalc
May 7th, 2011
12:55 am
Hawks will lose by 30pts in the closeout game in CHI. that’s how mentality weak this team is…
Najeh Davenpoop
May 7th, 2011
12:56 am
13 points for Taj Gibson off the bench. 14 points for the entire Hawks bench, including one for Pape Sy.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 7th, 2011
12:57 am
Smoove’s free throw problems tell me that he is just as lacking in confidence in his shot as the crowd is.
drmaryb (*_-)
May 7th, 2011
12:58 am
Satisfied!
Seems like after the Hawks beaþ Orlando! They were satisfied and done playing. That was their super bowl.
Mission Accomplished.
_____________
Oh Yeah! And after each game win or lose, the team leader should appear at the presser and represent his team!
Mr. Johnson? You took the lead dog money, the least you can do is face the cameras and answer the tough questions. I’d rather have players argue over “who’s team this is”, than not.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 7th, 2011
12:58 am
11 boards for Taj Gibson off the bench. 8 total boards for the Hawks’ bench.
3 3’s for Kyle Korver off the bench. 5 total field goals for the Hawks’ bench.
Little Fawkers
May 7th, 2011
12:58 am
Hawks fans are lame. What is the point of giving out white t-shirts if the hillbillies won’t wear them? Look at Dallas fans. Nothing but a sea of blue tonight because their fans WORE THE BLUE T-SHIRTS. I guess we can’t expect Atlanta fans to know what to do at a NBA game since they only show up in the playoffs.
FYI – Rose is now playing for his mama. Hawks can’t stop that.
Teezo
May 7th, 2011
12:59 am
They run a so called Motion Offense, but all I see is dribble dribble dribble shoot/pass as the shot clock runs out or just bad shots…Where’s the cutting, slashing, picks, back-screens, etc…The Bulls are beating them at something they should be doing…ATL is simply being outplayed on offense and defense…The players are not on the same page, as Josh has a decent game, but the rest might as well sat the bench…Teague has showed that ATL will have to pay up or somebody else is gonna snatch him up…As we all know, you never know what Hawks team is gonna show up..I see a team that looks scared of Boozer and Noah tho, why???
Section 303
May 7th, 2011
1:01 am
I’ve never seen Horford play so bad. Never. I’m not ready to give up on him turning things around in this series.
Just p#ssed that this team comes out and gets blown out, again. They complain and complain about the lack of support (which also p#sses me off, as a long time season ticket holder), but continually perform horribly infront of their biggest home crowds.
Rose hit some tough shots tonight, but he will do that pretty much every night. The Hawks D was horrible. Al and Josh do nothing. Rose drives the lane at will. Marvin killed me when he went over, instead of under, the screen set by the white stiff. That led to a wide open Korver 3, which he made.
Korver is going to kill the Hawks in one of these games. I’m thinking it’s coming on Sunday.
mistagamer
May 7th, 2011
1:01 am
Blame me… I missed the game because I was on the road traveling.
BILLY KNIGHT
May 7th, 2011
1:01 am
Noah 6′11 230 Superman 6′11 270, why is noah destroying the hawks in the paint with offense rebounds, and superman was held in check with tough shots he made early in the series, but later as the series lasted superman became weak by game 6 from collins big body.
Reggie
May 7th, 2011
1:03 am
We got out-coached and out-played…the coach of the year had a defensive gameplan for the Hawks including sending a trap at Jamal when dude crossed halfcourt with the ball….Larry Drew was like “ummm should i call the thumbs up or thumbs down play?” No reason to start Marvin….ever. Start Collins and keep Josh on the low blocks so he can get easy baskets and offensive rebounds. With that being said i fully expect Marvin to pull off the warm-ups and walk out with the starters and Josh to be camped around the 3 point line at which point i will be turning my television off.
tremaine
May 7th, 2011
1:05 am
Just so yall know, Hilton Armstrong is garbage. Pretty much gave 3 players and a draft pick for Hinrich.
mykhalc
May 7th, 2011
1:07 am
@303…i agree about Al. here’s my take when Al was NOT worried about scorin’ he was much more effective. he was on a GLASS mission!! NOW him and Josh wanna be offensive weapons and NEITHER one is. again, for me, it’s about cats acceptin’ roles. this team has players that are determined to define what their own roles should be…hence why LD doesn’t sit Josh when he ’s jackin’ up 3’s. it’s very clear that the inmates run this asylum!!!
Najeh Davenpoop
May 7th, 2011
1:10 am
“Hawks fans are lame. What is the point of giving out white t-shirts if the hillbillies won’t wear them? ”
They were towels. They charge $5 for the shirts.
superiorblogman
May 7th, 2011
1:11 am
PG Teague
SG Joe
SF Josh
PF AL
C Magnum Rolle
Maybe Rolle is Teague #2, meaning a guy that’s hungry enough to play with no fear on the biggest stage.
You have to try something and Collins nor Zaza seems to be worth there salt in this round.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 7th, 2011
1:11 am
“Noah 6′11 230 Superman 6′11 270″
Noah 6′11″ 230 Horford 6′10″ 245
Not that significant of a difference in my opinion.
Section 303
May 7th, 2011
1:13 am
mykhalc, I have no doubt that’s true. The inmates do run this asylum. Which is why I think at least one of the inmates needs to go. I vote Josh Smith. That’s not a popular pick for many on this blog, but I’ve seen enough. I am so tired of watching that guy play. I think he kills this team.
Plus, I think most of the guys who run teams in the NBA are idiots. Almost willing to bet the Hawks could fool someone into giving up a decent player for Josh. Of course, considering we just traded a first round pick and Jordan Crawford for a PG we didn’t need….we might have an idiot running our team, too.
BILLY KNIGHT
May 7th, 2011
1:13 am
@ Najeh Davenpoop there is a different Horford is not a center.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 7th, 2011
1:15 am
“there is a different Horford is not a center.”
Why not?
superiorblogman
May 7th, 2011
1:18 am
Our bigs are just soft.
Bogut: Could look like the best defensive C in the league with us.
Javal McGee: Not sure about his toughness, but he definitely likes to block shots. He and Josh protecting the rim would be ideal since Al is not a offensive stud.
Al Horford and Kirk Hinrich for Bogut and Magette
Al Horford and Kirk Hinrich for Javal McGee and Rashard Lewis
Slimjr
May 7th, 2011
1:19 am
I have officially deleted Allstar from Al’s name..
He is playing more like fat Albert right now.. Disappointment does not begin to describe his play in this series…..
His feet are stuck in concrete blocks…..brutal to watch……………brutal……
worst pick in History had one rebound?????????????????
Waive his azz…………………
The 3 stooges have got to go………………………………..
Slimjr
May 7th, 2011
1:20 am
The 3 stooges would get beatdown in the WNBA……………………Shoot…….
BILLY KNIGHT
May 7th, 2011
1:24 am
3 games so far this series Josh have had 1 offensive rebound and noah 16 wow!!!!!!!!!!!! that the coaches fault for not punishing josh, why is josh all ways standing at the top of the key.
mykhalc
May 7th, 2011
1:25 am
@303…yep..i’d start with Josh but i wouldn’t stop there!!! the makeup and mental makeup of this team needs re-vampin’. this team NEEDS a Batman…PERIOD!!! again if i were GM i keep JT, KH, JJ, and AH. and i keep KH and JJ for different reasons…KH comes off books in a year and JJ’s contract probably keeps him in a Hawks uni. but those would be the only cats i’d keep come next season…
BILLY KNIGHT
May 7th, 2011
1:28 am
@ Najeh Davenpoop Horford is to soft thats why he should never play center.
Not Sund
May 7th, 2011
1:34 am
It just doesn’t look like the Hawks are playing as hard as the Bulls are, that’s inexcusable.
Wabe
May 7th, 2011
1:34 am
At least Hawks fans can look forward to a PG to fill that void we’ve had on our roster forever.
You can’t compare the 2004 Pistons to this squad the Hawks have currently assembled. First, as Najeh pointed out, that team is the lone exception to the rule. Also, just compare the character of that team to the one we have here. That team had leaders. They had guys that wouldn’t settle for average/mediocore. The Hawks have no such personalities on the roster.
Again, we’ll see how the rest of this series plays out. But, I’ll say this now, I’m not opposed to moving any peices from this team not named Teague. Till Sunday, I’ll keep my frustration in check. How the Hawks respond to back to back terrible games will determine how I feel about this group moving forward.
BILLY KNIGHT
May 7th, 2011
1:35 am
If the hawks loose this series don’t be surprise if josh or horford is not traded.
Calling 'em out
May 7th, 2011
1:35 am
JeJe, you strike me as a female. All u do is bytch. They ain’t firing Larry get over it. Your crazy arse trade proposals won’t fly either. Booty chatter
mykhalc
May 7th, 2011
1:40 am
@MC…ok…i’m confused on Joe’s comments. were his pick and roll complaints aimed at Teague or LD??
BILLY KNIGHT
May 7th, 2011
1:41 am
Wabe i have a ? would you trade Teague for Chris Paul
superiorblogman
May 7th, 2011
1:42 am
Larry Drew has done nothing to keep his job. He lost 9 less games than Woody during the regular season. Also failed to develop young talent and won simply one more playoff game than Woody ever did in a single season, allowed Josh Smith to not only revert but just do what he wanted to in every way. Turned Al Horford into the weakest jumpshooting so-called all-star C in the history of the game.
LD’s negatives far outway his positives
northcyde
May 7th, 2011
1:42 am
J.J. didn’t like the offensive approach: “It just seemed as if a lot of times we just ran a lot of pick-and-rolls and I was just kind of buried in the corner. I just thought we played into their hands. We didn’t do anything, I thought, to get our scorers the basketball to make plays. They come with the double team and they make us give it up. We can’t win like that. If you look at Game 1 it was nothing like that. Obviously they made adjustments but at the same time we have to stick with what got us here.”
So what should the Hawks do? “Honestly, I just got to force the issue,” Joe said. “In Game 4, I am definitely going to do that. I am not going to succumb to the double team and give it up every time because that’s what they want. We are playing right into their hands. I blame myself for that.”
From my perspective watching the game live, it seemed like J.J. had his chances to make something happen but fell back into Iso-Joe dribbling. When Joe starts talking about forcing the issue, the Hawks are in trouble.
From Najeh: Northcyde is going to like hearing this.
*********************
You DAMN RIGHT I like hearing that. I think he finally gets it . . I hope.
We CANNOT win this series with Joe Johnson playing like a complimentary player no matter what anybody says, including the beat writer, who thinks we’re in trouble if he forces the issue.
LOL . . hell . . we’re in trouble if he DOESN’T force the issue. If he or Jamal isn’t scoring . . (( talking like Dr. Dre in “Training Day” )) we’re DEAD . . we’re FVCKING DEAD!!
What do you want him to do MC? Pass it to Horford so that he can shoot a jumper that he can’t make anymore? Pass it to Smith for 3, since you aptly cited how he shot a better percentage than JJ from 3 this year, like he was an adequate shooter or something? How about passing it to Marvin? Is that what you want him to do out of the double team?
I hope JJ finally sees the light. And it took Rose taking over Philips for him to see it. JJ simply has to get his shots up, and frankly, I don’t care how he does it. Because even if he shoots and misses, we have a greater chance of gathering up a rebound off of his miss, than a rebound off of a miss of one of our bigs shooting a jumper.
Joe and Jamal are also our best “bad shot” makers. So if it’s anyone on the team I want taking bad shots, it’s those two. I’d rather see them take a bad shot, than for Smith to take a wide open 3 or Marvin to take a 21 footer.
The only thing I ask of JJ, is what Najeh and some other people have criticized him for. All I ask is that when you get the ball, do something RIGHT THEN and THERE with it. If they’re going to double you, you won’t have time to size your defender up to take him via ISO. You’re either going to have to get that shot up before the double team comes, or you’re going to have to go on the move and attack that double team. And if you drive the ball, don’t always look for the floater. Look to get to the rim, and possibly even draw contact. But it has to be aggressive, no matter what you do. Jamal, you do the same. WE honestly need both of you in Game 4.
Folks . . every lead scorer in the NBA has to force the issue at times, in order for his team to win the game. The whole “team concept” sounds nice. But you don’t want anybody and everybody shooting the ball, just because they are open. So when the star player starts to force the issue, it’s up to everybody else to be in position to keep the possession alive. Chicago is doing this by letting Rose, Deng, and Korver take 85% of the jumpers, while the rest of the guys crash the offensive board to rebound their misses. That’s what we did last year, and got us the #2 highest offensive rating.
We’re not winning a DAMN THING with Joe Johnson playing like he’s “one of the guys”. Everybody doesn’t need to be shooting the ball, especially out on the perimeter.
Even Barkley alluded to this after the Game 2 loss. He essentially said that he wished he could put “Jamal’s brain in Joe’s body” . . because Jamal has the mentality of an aggressive scorer, while JJ picks and chooses his spots to score. And that’s what makes him passive in some games.
12 shots from your leading scorer is unacceptable. He doesn’t need to be deferring shots so that Horford and Smith can get more open jumpers, especially in these playoffs when they’re not falling. If anything, tell those guys to do what Noah and Gibson did tonight, and get a few of their points via offensive rebounds.
JJ . . I hope you mean this man. Force the damn issue. Get your shots up, and see what happens.
northcyde
May 7th, 2011
1:46 am
Jeff Teague . . . major props to you man. You did what you had to do to keep us in the game. It’s just too bad that your teammates didn’t play up to your level. I’ve criticized you all year about your lack of leadership qualities and lack of aggressiveness, but you’ve done a great job in these last 3 games. Hopefully Drew won’t put you back on the bench, if we happen to get Hinrich back by Game 6 or 7 ( if those games are necessary ).
BILLY KNIGHT
May 7th, 2011
1:48 am
Chris Paul, David Anderson, Trevor Ariza for Teague, Horford, Marvin
BILLY KNIGHT
May 7th, 2011
1:52 am
Where ever Chris Paul go Superman right behind him.
CP3, Joe, Trevor, Josh, Superman.
O'Brien
May 7th, 2011
1:53 am
Northcyde,
What coaching grade would u give drew? It seems to me hawks made no adjustments after the game 2 loss. All LD tells them is move the ball, and take good shots (IMO). I give him a D.
Wabe, Najeh,
The pistons team also had a HOF coach who convinced them to play the right way. We had woody, and now drew.
For the game, it would also help if we didn’t miss 10 FT.
BILLY KNIGHT
May 7th, 2011
1:53 am
Jamal expiring contract 10 mill.
Buddy Grizzard
May 7th, 2011
1:55 am
“I wonder if in Al’s case in particular fear of the two foul rule is taking away his aggressiveness on D.” – Najeh
You think? Whole team maybe? This team has the talent to beat CHI but I don’t think it has the heart. Start at the top with disingenuous LD who betrays his favoritism all season with his lineups and makes zero effort to either develop Teague or develop a team offense with Teague integrated prior to round 2 of the playoffs where he’s your most consistent performer.
Then pay $120m to a guy who doesn’t care if the fans show up, makes excuses, says he doesn’t have to take all the blame. In short, give a superstar contract to a gutless coward and see how far he takes you. Then enable Josh Smith to take more than 200 more three pointers than he took in Woody’s last season as coach and complain about the results. Then surgically remove Al Horford’s huevos. Make him live in fear of that second foul and see what an aggressive player you’ve created.
RECIPE FOR DISASTER.